This invention relates to devices used to manipulate continuous well strings for wellsite operations. Continuous well strings include rod, used for example to operate downhole pumps, and continuous tubing, used for example in a variety of downhole applications such as drilling and clean out operations. Continuous well strings are manipulated downhole typically with continuous feed injection units that include gripper pads for gripping the well strings. One early such design is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,559,905 of Palynchuk, issued Feb. 1, 1971, in which a continuous chain with gripping blocks carried by the chain is used to inject the well string into the well. More recently, such continuous chain gripper systems have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,668 of Council, et al, issued Sep. 10, 1996.
As disclosed in Canadian patent application no. 2,351,648 published Feb. 21, 2002 the continuous feed injection units are suspended from the travelling block of a rig, such as a drilling rig or service rig. A continuous well string is fed through a guide from a carousel into the continuous feed injection unit. The guide is itself suspended from the rig. The tendency of the guide to straighten results in lateral stresses on the continuous feed injection unit. This invention is directed towards a method of reducing lateral stresses on the continuous feed injection unit.